LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT
This past January 7, the Dominican
House of Studies hosted a special
lecture on “Saint Thomas Aquinas
and Law” by Supreme Court Justice
Antonin Scalia. The lecture was held on
the memorial of St. Raymond of Peñafort,
a 13th-century Spanish Dominican
who is a patron saint of lawyers,
and
was
part
of
a
series of special events
commemorating the 800th
Jubilee of the Order of
Preachers. The lecture
was followed by a reception
and
dinner
with
the
Dominican
community,
which included an address
by Justice Samuel Alito on
“Being Catholic in Public
Life.” Hosting two Supreme
Court justices at the
same event was certainly
an historic moment for
us! But little did we
know at the time that this event
would be one of the last public lectures
given by Justice Scalia.
We
at
the
PFIC
have
been
deeply saddened by the news of
his unexpected passing. As we
pray for the repose of Justice Scalia’s
soul, our thoughts and prayers
also go out to his family in their
time of grief and loss. Several members
of the Scalia family have been friends
and strong supporters of the PFIC,
particularly of our Thomistic Institute.
We are grateful for their solidarity
with us, and now assure them of
our own solidarity with them at this
difficult time.
Faith & Reason - Volume III, Issue I
In reflecting upon the talks given by the
two justices at the January 7th event,
one of the things that struck me was
how the Catholic faith of these men has
informed their public life and service on
the court. Yet many in contemporary
society would argue that to be a public
servant, one must put aside one’s
religious beliefs in order to
make “objective” decisions
based solely on reason, or
even based on what seems
to be the majority opinion
of the moment! But such a
view ends up denying the
reality that faith and reason
lead to the same Truth, and
that faith actually assists
reason in discovering what
is true and necessary for
human flourishing. Faith
in no way handicaps or
shackles our reasoning
power—it actually serves as
a light to help reason achieve its highest
potential for making right judgments.
In a speech to the Baton Rouge, Louisiana,
council of the Knights of Columbus
in 2005, Justice Scalia responded to
the claim that people of faith are not
“sophisticated” in this way: “Have the
courage to have your wisdom regarded
as stupidity. Be fools for Christ. And
have the courage to suffer the contempt
of the sophisticated world.” He himself
was not afraid to proclaim his belief in
Christ or to allow that belief to inform
his work as a public servant. May we
too have the courage to be witnesses to
Christ in the public square!
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